April’s long walk to Super Rugby

BY THE time Garth April surfaced at the Sharks at the end of April last year, his rugby career was already at a crossroads.

A journey that started at Paarl Gymnasium, with a detour to Hoërskool Florida and Golden Lions’ junior age-group representation, has now seen his rugby train make a decisive stop at Kings Park.

His abrupt move from Cape Town to Durban was shrouded in controversy, especially after his performances at No 10 helped the unfancied Durbanville-Bellville win last year’s Community Cup.

Western Province director of rugby Gert Smal was reported to be upset with the decision, but April said those troubled times were part of his character-moulding stage, which included a number of longterm injuries.

“The time between me moving to Durbanville-Bellville, playing for Western Province and moving to the Sharks was a tough one mentally. I also found myself playing club rugby here last year, so I had to start from the bottom. I’d been around the block with the Golden Lions junior teams and also played for Boland in the Vodacom Cup, so I have done the rounds,” he said.

“It’s been an uphill struggle in the past two seasons, but I’m thankful for where I am now. I knew I wanted to make a life out of playing rugby and getting to where I am now has not been very easy. Durbell was the perfect club to reignite my career at the time and I haven’t looked back since.”

When the Sharks found themselves in a flyhalf crisis during the preseason tour to France when Pat Lambie injured his shoulder, April was thrust into the spotlight alongside Joe Pietersen.

When Pietersen suffered an inexplicable loss of form and confidence in the lead-up to the New Zealand tour, April had to step across the threshold.